I'd been meaning to read this book for years, and I'm not sure why it took me so long. The writing pulled me in, though, and du Maurier's descriptions are vivid and haunting and at times creepy. My mind appreciates Manderley's lushness and is haunted by the narrator's description of Mrs. Danvers' 'white skull' face.

The writing was so enchanting, I felt as if under a spell, and when the revelations started, I was rightly shocked. There's also something so interesting about reading a book in first-person and not understanding that person's actions. So many times I felt the need to grab the nameless narrator by the shoulders and shake her awake - spoilers here -

M'dear, you married a murderer, how are you so okay with this?! ... The book has stayed with me so long after finishing, I think, because there are these characters the reader might feel close to, like the narrator and Max, who are essentially bad. To me, a murderer is a murderer no matter how much Max was demeaned and mocked by his first wife. I was aghast at how the narrator, upon learning of his MURDER of Rebecca, felt more than anything relief that Max had not been swooning in love with his dead first wife the entire time. Okay, cool, but dude was removed because he was searing with guilt and the possibility he might be found out and sent to jail forever. For killing his wife and making it look like an accident. Cool cool cool. Of course, Rebecca, Mrs. Danvers, and Rebecca's drunk cousin aren't exactly shiny emblems of good people.

But that's part of why this book is so intriguing - the characters are layered and provocative and distinct. There's a moodiness swirling in the atmosphere and I had to find out how it would end. I was not disappointed. I can't wait to re-read in the future. And to watch the movie; a rare Hitchcock I haven't seen.

PS I wonder what this story might look like in modern times? So much of it driven by archaic societal rules that are pretty much dissolved now... but there are different 'rules' today that could act with the same restrictive feeling I think.